Majority Cloture for the Senate

Archive Report

Filibusters and the Senate Rules

Minority Obstruction to Republican Program

For the first time in more than 20 years the Senate is giving serious consideration to possible changes in the rules governing its debates. The Senate is the only important legislative body in the world where the filibuster may still be used by a determined minority to block action desired by a majority of its members. The present rule on closing debate, adopted in 1917, has proved ineffective because it requires a two-thirds vote to bring it into operation. Proposals for majority cloture have got nowhere in the past because of the strong tradition of freedom of Senate debate.

The present Republican majority in the Senate is not committed to a change in the cloture rule, but ...

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